New Year Resolution
by Yukirei
Summary: It is the first day of the new year! The Yagami family make their new year resolutions over a delicious breakfast. Originally written in celebration of the arrival of the year 2005


Title: **New Year Resolution  
**Fandom: Death Note  
Pairing(s): none  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters. Death Note belongs to Ohba Tsugumi-sensei and Obata Takeshi-sensei, the creator and artist behind Death Note whom we should thank for bringing us such a wonderful series.

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Author's Note: 

Originally written in celebration of the arrival of the year 2005. The Death Note category on FanFiction. net hadn't yet been created at that time; thus, although it's long past New Year, I'm putting this fic up now, believing that it still can be enjoyed nevertheless.

In Death Note's world, this took place a year ago - on the morning of January 1st, 2004.

In our world, this took place in the middle of volume 2 of Death Note, before the scene at the start of chapter 12. This fic contains spoilers up to the above-mentioned chapter, nothing explicit but there are still certain things implied that might spoil one's enjoyment when reading and I would strongly discourage being spoiled for this particular manga if you plan on reading, even for those who don't mind spoilers.

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The light patter of footsteps could be heard as feet ran down the stairs. 

"Good morning, Mum!" Sayu said as she stepped into the dining area. She lifted her head, taking a whiff of the air.

_Mmm... scrambled eggs and bacon._

Sayu pulled a chair from the dining table. She was in high spirits this morning.

"Good morning," Sachiko said, setting two food-laden plates on the table before turning back to the kitchen counter for the last.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year."

Sayu looked up from the plate in front of her, twisting her head in the direction of the third voice. "Niisan! Good morning"

"Good morning. Dressed so early?"

"I'm going to the shrine with my friends later." Sayu turned her head to follow her brother with her eyes as he walked in. Some of her words came out distorted from the stretching of her neck as Light past behind her chair. "I'll help pray for niisan to have good results in your exams too."

"Thanks," Light said as he took the seat beside Sayu.

"Don't mention it. That would be two thousand yen." Sayu stretched out her right hand, a broad grin on her face.

"I believe I'll perform well too without the help of prayers," Light said nonchalantly as he picked up the fork by his plate, deliberately ignoring Sayu and her outstretched hand.

Sayu pushed her bottom lip out in a slight pout. "Fine, fine. I'll pray for niisan for free."

Light turned to Sayu. Resting his hand on her head, like one would do to praise a small child for being obedient, he said lightly, "thanks".

Sayu waved his hand away.

"Don't ask for payment for praying for your own brother," Sachiko said distractedly as she pulled out the chair across Sayu, setting the plate of breakfast in her hands down in front of herself.

"I was just kidding, Mum." Sayu indignantly protested against her mother's nagging.

A few minutes after they started eating, Sachiko let out a small sigh before saying, half to herself, "your father's new year resolution this year would probably be to catch Kira."

Sayu halted - her spoon hovered above her plate, its journey discontinued despite it being already halfway to her mouth - surprised by what seemed to her to be a sentence out of nowhere. She had missed the brief glance her mother had cast earlier at the empty chair beside her.

Beside her, Light had also stopped eating and was watching their mother closely, concern reflected on his features.

"Mum...?" Sayu tried softly.

Their mother gave a slight start. Looking up and seeing her children staring at her, she managed a happy-looking smile as she asked, "So, what are your New Year resolutions this year?"

Sayu blinked a few times. Then she understood. She thought for a moment, looking up towards the ceiling, before replying seriously, her voice filled with determination, "I'm going to study harder this year."

The smile now on their mother's face was a small one, just a slight upward tug at the corners of her lips. Compared to her smile a few seconds ago, it was much less wide... but much more genuine.

"That's good," Sachiko said, her smile audible in her voice.

Sayu smiled back at her mother, relieved that the unpleasant feeling from before had disappeared. She popped her spoon of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

Sachiko turned to her son. "How about you, Light?"

Light seemed to consider for a long moment before replying, "I'm going to make this world a better place for Mankind."

"Whoa! A resolution as expected of niisan!" Sayu exclaimed beside him. "But..." she quickly swallowed her mouthful of egg before their mother could say anything about her talking with her mouth full, and then continued, "...aren't New Year resolutions things that you yourself can do? Making the world a better place sounds so huge... it sounds impossible to accomplish alone!"

"I'll do what can be done within the limits of my abilities," was Light's steady response, accompanied by a smile - the tinge of smugness within it went undetected.

"Ahh..." Sayu said, finally understanding. It was something like 'everything one does, no matter how small, can make a difference', wasn't it? This was the brother she admired.

Across them, their mother beamed with pride.

While behind them, Ryuk cackled.

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Date written: 30 December 2004 


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